Second Chance
by Trapped in a MatchBox
Summary: Someone comes crashing in Abby's life changing everything. It'll probably be a carby but its more of an Abby story right now...
1. Unexpected

A/N: There are two different point of views in this story. I hope it isn't too confusing… enjoy.

_**Second Chance**_

_**Chapter 1 – Unexpected**_

There are people everywhere I look. I've been here for hours and there hasn't been a single peaceful moment. Doctors, nurses, people crying and screaming, coming and going through the doors. I watch them. Their moves, reactions, most of the time, their pain. I like to watch people and how they interact with each other. But right now I know this is just an excuse and I'm just stalling, postponing the… well, I wouldn't say inevitable, but it is, after all, the reason I came all the way from sunny California to cold and windy Chicago.

My name's Jordan. I'm 18 years old and have just finished high school. I was raised by two loving parents in San Francisco, California, and I've known I was adopted since I was old enough to understand. I was born in Minnesota. That's the only thing I know about my origins. And I have this letter that my biological mother wrote me when I was a baby. That's how I know her name. At least her maiden name. The rest I look up on the internet. That's how I found out where she is now and where she works. Cook County General Hospital, south side of Chicago. That's all I know about her. Which is quite a lot compared to what I know about my father. I have no clue who he is. But that doesn't matter now.

What matters is that I have to see my birth mom. My foster parents died in a car crash a few months ago and I have no one now. Literally. They didn't have any siblings and my grandparents died before I was born. So I'm alone in the world right now so I decided to look for my biological mother, apparently my only living relative.

So here I am sitting on the waiting area of Cook County General Hospital. And I still haven't done anything. All I have to do is get up and ask for her. But I still haven't summoned up the courage to do it. But I will sooner or later. I have to.

* * *

This shift is endless. A minute feels like an hour. I'm so tired and we're so slammed. I run around the ER trying to see ten patients at once. Every time I turn around someone says Dr Lockhart. What? Is it "let's kill Abby from exhaustion day" today? Because it feels like I'm the only doctor in the house. I used to be so proud every time called me Dr Lockhart. But now it's just annoying.

I'm standing at the admit desk when Susan announces there's a triple MVA rolling in. God, I don't know how I'm gonna make it through this shift.

It's hours later that things finally slow down. I go into the lounge to get my stuff and get the hell out of here so I can go home and sleep for the next twelve hours. As I'm leaving the room, I bump into Susan holding little Cosmo.

"Hey, Abby, can you watch him for a minute? I have to check on this patient on the cath lab and Chuck just dropped him off and…" she babbles.

"Of course I'll watch him. Go! Don't worry." I say taking Cosmo in my arms. The 8-month-old giggles and waves his little arms around at the sound of my voice.

"Thanks, Ab, you're a life savior." She says running down the hall.

"Yeah, that's what they all say." I say with a chuckle. I drop my things on the table and sit on the couch with Cosmo on my lap. "So, it's just you and me, little guy." I say in a baby voice. "What do you want to do?" I say tickling him as he giggles and waves his arms and legs around. I smile at him and can't help but think at all the chances I had on motherhood and screwed everything up.

I am pulled out of my thoughts when Sam comes through the door.

"Abby, there's a girl out there looking for you." She says pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Who?" I ask, still playing with Cosmo.

"Uh, she said her name is Jordan O'Connell or something like that." She says. My heart skips a beat, my throat is suddenly dry and I bet my eyes look like they're about to bug out of my head.

"What did you say?" I ask nervously startling the baby in my arms.

* * *

Ok, this is it. I have to do it.

I get up and walk slowly towards a nurse. I take a deep breath.

"Excuse me." I say. She looks up from the chart she was working on.

"Yes?" she asks.

"Um, I'm looking for Abigail Lockhart. Is she here?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah, I think she's still here. What's your name?"

"Jordan O'Connell."

"Ok, Jordan, why don't you take a seat while I go and get her for you?" she asks with a smile.

"Alright." I say and go back to the chairs.

This is it. No turning back now. I can't believe I'm gonna meet her after all these years of dreaming about her. Oh, God….

A/N: so what do you think? Tell me all about it when you review.


	2. Meeting you

A/N: thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I love you guys.

_**Second Chance**_

_**Chapter 2 – Meeting you**_

I lean against the wall taking a shaky deep breath as I look at the girl Sam told me about. It's got to be her. There are no mistakes whatsoever. She's like a younger version of me. She has long brown hair, brown eyes and she looks exactly as I did when I was a teenager.

I feel like I'm frozen on the spot. I can't bring myself to move my legs and walk towards her. I just don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. And at the same time I feel something in my heart, a feeling I felt once eighteen years ago and had kept it somewhere deep within my soul to the point it was almost non-existent. It's always been there even if I tried to deny it. But now… now it's suddenly back on surface, stronger than ever and I have no clue on how to deal with this.

I feel the tears well up in my eyes as I watch her. Her every move and how she's watching the people around her. She's so grown up, my baby girl. I brush the tears away with the back of my hand before anyone sees it.

I move away from the wall and start walking to the chairs. I see her looking up as I get closer to her and the look of realization on her face when our eyes meet.

Standing in front of her, I stay silent for a minute. My voice is gone, I can't myself say anything. She looks anxiously at me, probably waiting for me to say something.

"Hi." I say quietly.

"Hi." She says back.

* * *

I wonder what's taking so long. It's been… ok, it's only been seven minutes since I talked to that nurse. I guess I'm a bit anxious. Ok, who am I kidding? I'm really anxious. I can't wait to see her and it's taking for god damn ever! I look around, looking at every person who passes through the doors, wondering if she's one of them.

Then my eyes stop at this woman. A doctor. Long brown hair, brown eyes. My heart starts beating wildly in my chest, my palms are sweaty and I can't quite catch my breath. Oh, God. It's her. It's gotta be her. And she's coming to me. Oh, my God, what do I do? Ok, calm down. I can do this.

She stops in front of me and she's clearly just as nervous as I am.

"Hi." She says almost in a whisper.

"Hi." I say. I now can examine her face closer. I look a lot like her. After a while I realize I'm staring at her. "Uh, I'm Jordan." I say not knowing what else to say. She smiles and sits next to me.

"I'm Abby." I giver her a small smile. I'm still really nervous.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this. I'm sure you're really busy and…"

"It's ok." She says interrupting me. "I can't say this isn't a big surprise though." She says chuckling.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just had to see you. I just didn't know who else to run to. I'm… I'm alone now." I tell her. I didn't mean to blurt it all out like that but I just couldn't help it. She gives me a confused look. "My parents are dead."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Jordan." She says taking my hand in hers.

"It's ok; it's been a few months." I say giving her a sad smile.

"Yeah, but still…" she says running a hand through her hair. "I'll tell you what, why don't we get something to eat? The hospital is hardly the appropriate place for us to talk." She says getting up.

"Alright." I say getting up too.

"I just have to get my things in the lounge. Wanna come?" I smile wildly.

"Sure." I say happily.

She leads me through the hospital until we get to this room. There's a blond woman sitting on the couch with the cutest baby boy in her arms.

"I thought your shift was over." She tells Abby.

"It is." Abby says.

"Then what are you still doing here?"

"Picking up my things so I can go, _mom_." Abby says grinning. The woman laughs. Abby turns to me. "Jordan, this is Dr Lewis, my _boss_ and this is Cosmo, her son." I smile at them. "Suse, this is Jordan O'Connell."

"Nice to meet you, Jordan." Dr Lewis says with a smile.

"You too, Dr Lewis. And you little guy." I say ruffling Cosmo's hair. He giggles.

"Ok, ready to go." Abby asks me. I nod. "Are you on tomorrow, Suse?

"Yeah." She sighs. "Night shift."

"Me too." Abby says kissing Cosmo's head. "See you tomorrow then."

"Bye. Say bye-bye, aunt Abby." Dr Lewis says to the baby.

"Bye, sweetie. Bye, Susan." Abby says opening the door for me to pass.

"Bye, Dr Lewis." I say with a smile.

"Bye, Jordan." She says and the door is closed.

Abby and I leave the hospital breathing in the warm summer air.

"I still can't believe you're here." She says after a few minutes of silence. I look at her and smile. "How did you find me?

"It's a long story." I say as we enter in a restaurant. She checks her watch and smiles at me.

"It's only 7. We've got plenty of time." She says with a grin.

* * *

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it when you review. D 


	3. Reasons

A/N: Thanks a lot for all your wonderful reviews. They really make my day. Hope you like this chapter.

_**Second Chance**_

_**Chapter 3 - Reasons**_

Jordan and I have been talking here in this restaurant for the last two hours. She's told me all about how she found me and how her parents got killed. She was with them at the time and only survived by a miracle. While her dad died almost instantly and her mom was badly injured, all she got out of it was a broken leg.

I was starting to wonder if she was going to ask me about the adoption when she finally popped the question I was dreading.

"Abby?" she says.

"Yeah?

"Can I ask you something?" she asks shyly.

"Sure." I say with a smile.

"Why did u give me up for adoption?" she looks down at her plate as she asks that.

I sigh and take her hand in mine. "I was too young. Your father knocked me up and left. I had a really screwed up family. I couldn't raise you on my own. I was only 16. It wouldn't have been fair to u. You deserved to grow up in safe, stable environment with a loving family and I couldn't give you that." I say and she looks up at me. "So I thought it would be best for you to be raised by two people who would love you and provide to you everything that you needed. And your parents seemed to be really good people." She smiles.

"They were the best." She says.

"They were so nice to me at the time." I say remembering the day she was born. "I'm sorry I couldn't be a mom to you. There wasn't a day since the say you were born that I didn't think about you. I've always loved you. And now you're here, all grown up…"

I feel the tears gathering in my eyes again. Jordan gets up and comes to my side hugging me. I hug her back feeling for the first time what it's like to be hugged by my little girl.

"Well," she whispers in my ear. "for what it's worth, I still need a mom now." And that's it for me. After she says that my tears run freely down my cheeks and I fight hard not to sob. I can't believe this is happening.

"Thank you." I tell her smiling through my tears. She smiles. "Where are you staying?

"At a hotel a few blocks from here. It's a nice place." She says.

"Why don't you stay with me?" I ask. I want to spend as much time as I can with her.

"I don't want to bother you or anything." She says shyly again.

"Come on. I have a spare bedroom, I have food and it's all for free." I say grinning. She looks at me thinking. "Come on, Jordan, we have eighteen years of catching up to do." I wink at her and she grins at me.

"Alright, let's go." She says.

* * *

"Wow, you got a really nice, Abby." I say when we enter Abby's apartment. She smiles.

"Thanks. Make yourself at home." She says taking off her shoes and throwing her purse and keys on a table near by.

"Uh, where should I put these?" I say motioning to my bags that we stopped by the hotel to get. She stops and turns around.

"Oh. Well, c'mon I'll show you to your room." She says picking up one of my bags and leading me through the apartment.

It really is a nice place Abby's got. Not too big, not too small. I still can't believe how everything's going. I have to admit I thought she wouldn't even want to see me, let alone invite me to stay with her. I'm really happy I found her. And she seems to be so nice. I hope everything turns out well. And it's not like I'm going to stay for a long time anyway. I got accepted in Northwestern. Pre med. Classes start soon and I'm really looking forward to it.

"Here it is." She says pushing the door open. "I know it's not much but…"

"It's great." I say putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, if you want to take a shower or something, the bathroom is down the hall to the left and if you need anything at all my room is just across the hall." I nod. "I'll let you settled in then. I'll be in the kitchen." She says.

"Ok, great. I'll just take a quick shower." I say as she leaves the room.

"Don't worry. Take you time." She calls out.

* * *

I go to the kitchen feeling happier than I had been in a long time. I feel like I'm dreaming, like I'm gonna wake up any second now and it's all been an illusion. I make a pot of tea still thinking about Jordan and how much she looks like me. And she seems to be such a nice girl. I bet she's probably going to college soon. I wonder which career she'll follow.

I'm brought back to reality when I see Jordan pulling a chair and sitting down. She's wearing a white top and navy blue pajama bottoms that make her look like a little girl.

"What kind of tea do you want?" I ask. She shrugs.

"Whatever you're having is fine with me." she says. I pour her a cup and hand it to her sitting across from her. "Thanks." She says taking the cup.

"Don't mention it." I say with a smile. "So, what have you been doing in the last eighteen years?"

* * *

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it when you review. 


	4. Of dreams and daydreams

A/N: thanks for the reviews guys. I love you all! Here's chapter 4 and Carter finally makes an appearance. Hope you like it.

_**Second Chance**_

_**Chapter 4 – Dreams and daydreams**_

On the following day I wake up earlier than usual. I get up and make a quick stop at the bathroom and then head to the kitchen. I open the fridge to get some juice hoping that Abby won't mind. She isn't on until tonight so I suppose she won't wake up any time soon. After finishing the juice, I decide watch some tv until Abby wakes up.

Flipping through the channels, my mind wanders off to last night and our talk. It was actually really nice. Abby told me a bit about herself and she wanted to know everything about me. It's amazing how comfortable I feel when I'm talking to her, even if I've only known her for less than 24 hours. There was this instant click though, probably that so called mother-daughter connection thing happening to us. I'm really glad that she took me in like that; I still can't quite believe it. I told her I'm leaving for college in a couple of weeks and she was really cool about it saying that I can stay here for as long as I want and that I should come and visit whenever I can once classes start.

Someone knocking on the door pushes me out of my daydream. I get up and head for the door, pausing a few feet from it debating whether I should answer it or not. In the end I decide that I should see who it is because it's probably something important for someone to be knocking at Abby's door at 8am.

I open the door and find this tall guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, probably in his thirties, really cute. He looks at me confused and then looks at the number on the door, probably checking if he's got the right place.

"Can I help you?" I ask. He looks at me still confused.

"Uh, is Abby home?" He asks.

"Yeah, but she's sleeping. Did she know you were coming?"

"Yeah, I work with her and we were supposed to go over these charts today. I guess she forgot." He says looking disappointed.

"Maybe she just slept in. I can go and wake her up if you want." I say giving him a friendly smile.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"Great, thanks." He says with a smile. "Who did you say you are?"

"I didn't." I say with a grin. "I'm Jordan."

"John Carter." He says shaking my hand.

"I'll be right back, Dr Carter. Make yourself at home." He nods and I run off to Abby's room.

* * *

A baby. There's this chubby little baby girl smiling at me. I smile back and start walking towards her. We're in this park I think and she's sitting on this sheet waving her little arms at me. But something is wrong. The more I walk, the further she gets. The she starts crying and I begin to panic. I have to get to her. I have to see what she needs. So I start running and I can't get to her and suddenly I start crying out of frustration. I don't understand what's happening. Then I hear someone calling me and when I look to where the baby was I see she's gone and now there's a little girl there and she's calling my name.

"Abby." She calls out but it sounds so far. "Abby, wake up." She says a bit louder now and starts to disappear. "Abby, c'mon."

My eyes snap open. I blink a few times trying to adjust my sight to the light. Once I can see properly, I find Jordan sitting on the edge of my bed looking at me.

"Jordan, what is it?" I ask, my voice filled with sleep. "Something happened?" I ask sitting up, my mind getting clearer now.

"Sorry to wake you up like this but there's this guy outside asking for you. Dr Carter he said his name was." She says. Damn, I forgot.

"Oh, shit, I forgot he was coming over." I say throwing the covers away. "Tell him I'll be right there." I say getting up and head to the bathroom.

I completely forgot Carter was coming here today. Damn. I brush my teeth quickly and splash some water on my face on a failed attempt to wash away the sleep. I go back to my room to put my robe on. I'm sure Carter won't mind that I haven't changed. It's not like he hasn't seen me in much less clothing than I am now.

I go to the living room where Jordan already served Carter a cup of coffee and has one waiting for me. I smile at her and take the cup in my hands.

"You're an angel." I say and she laughs.

"You're welcome." She says grinning.

"Morning." I say with a smile. "Did you sleep ok?" I ask, mother protection already kicking in.

"Yeah, it was great." She says. I nod taking a sip of my coffee. "Hey, Carter." I say trying to stifle a yawn. He laughs.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He says chuckling.

"Morning. This is Jordan O'Connell." I say.

"Oh, we've already met." Carter says. "Are you two related or something because you look a lot like each other." He says looking at me and Jordan.

I look at her and there's this understanding without words between us. I nod and she turns to Carter.

"Yeah, I look a lot like her," Jordan says. "because I'm her daughter."

* * *

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Tell me all about it when you review. 


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